Spanish soccer star Andres Iniesta will leave Vissel Kobe in the summer, the J.League team announced Thursday.
His final game will be the July 1 matchup against Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo.
"I had imagined that my retirement would happen here, but things sometimes don't go as you hope," Iniesta, 39, said at a press conference in Kobe. "I have the desire to continue my time on the pitch."